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From award-winning New York Times bestselling author Lisa Genova-whose novel Still Alice is soon to be a major motion picture starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth, and Kristen Stewart-comes a novel about autism and unconditional love. I'm always hearing about how my brain doesn't work right...But it doesn't feel broken to me. In an insightful, deeply human story reminiscent of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Daniel Isn't Talking , and The Reason I Jump , New York Times bestselling author and neuroscientist Lisa Genova offers a unique perspective in fiction-the extraordinary voice of Anthony, a nonverbal boy with autism. Anthony reveals a neurologically plausible peek inside the mind of autism, why he hates pronouns, why he loves swinging and the number three, how he experiences routine, joy, and love. And it is the voice of this voiceless boy that guides two women in this powerfully unforgettable story to discover the universal truths that connect us all.

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While I fully admit that it was difficult for me to suspend my disbelief at times, this didn't stop me from enjoying this title. Somehow despite this, I could not put the book down and I ended up reading it in just one day. A touching and uplifting book about loving someone unconditionally.

I really hesitated before opening this one because I loathed "Left Neglected" so very much. And some of the problems I had with that book were evident in this one. Maybe Genova's income as a neurologist and best-selling author make these moneyed characters appear realistic to her, but I'd have been more interested to see how a working class family would cope with an autistic child. I know lots of them through my work with special needs kids, and they for damn sure aren't throwing money at the problem hoping to "fix" their child. So the wisdom that the one mother gets to after 10 years (accept reality and enjoy the moments as the come, because autistic people are pretty interesting in their own unique ways), most of my parents have gained after the first shock. I also did not enjoy the parts of the book that were "in the voice" of the autistic boy. It is a mistake to use words to describe the thought processes of a non-verbal person. It puts more weight on the inability of an autistic person to express their thoughts, rather than on the essential un-knowability of how they think. You'd do as well writing in the voice of a wild animal (like Andrew Pyper did in that forest fire book where he "spoke" as a vengeful mother grizzly bear and looked pretty silly doing it...). I'm not saying that people with autism aren't humans, just that it's presumptuous to think that a non-autist can speak for them.

Still Alice is still my favorite book by this author. This one is good, but not great. It's the story of two women whose lives intersect by chance. One has a recently deceased autistic son, the other a writer who just so happens to be writing a book about an autistic boy who strangely(?) mirrors that of the bereaved mother. The characters are well developed and the story lines for each of the women are well thought out, however, I felt like the book/story/boy were just a little too coincidental.

This book is excellent. I am a nurse, and started in pediatrics. In the times I have cared for autistic children I have never had such an insightful view from that of the child. This will bring peace, and love to all parents. Blessings Lisa for such a great book! Healing will occur with it.

Comparable to "Still Alice", this book takes the reader into the mind of a child who has autism. It explores the pain of his mother, Olivia, and links with Beth who is inspired to write the story about a little boy whom she observed many years previously. Certainly would recommend to anyone who appreciates learning about life's many challenges.